Lover Mine by J. R. Ward

Title: Lover Mine (A Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel, 8)
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (3rd February 2011)
Blurb:

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. The city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race – the warrior vampires of the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD.

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him, and taken in by the Brotherhood. No one could have guessed his true history – or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow a male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

LOVER MINE by J. R. Ward is the eighth book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. This time the story focuses on John Matthew and Xhex, who have both appeared as minor characters in previous books. John Matthew struggles to deal with the repercussions of the events at the end of the previous book, and also to gain justice for Xhex.

I can honestly say that LOVER MINE is not one of my favourite books from this series. Although I enjoyed reading about Xhex, I struggled to relate to John Matthew and at times found it very difficult to actually like him. As always Ward splits the story between the main couple and several other minor stories. There was a lot going on in this book, even without the events between John Matthew and Xhex but it was relatively easy to keep track of everything.

John Matthew has come a long way since we first met him earlier in the series. A lot has happened to him as the series has progressed, and it has had an obvious influence on him. There were times in this book where I really disliked him – a tribute to Ward’s writing – but at the same time I felt his emotional journey through the book was quite satisfying, if at times frustrating. Xhex, on the other hand, I really enjoyed in this book. She is a really strong person, and I thought Ward handled that really well.

The main plot of the book focuses on the aftereffects of LOVER AVENGED (review), and all the consequences that spiralled out from those events. There were definitely a few plot threads I was not expecting, and I think Ward did a good job in bringing them all together to form a coherent story. There were also some tantalizing threads which could be played out in future books – some of which I am definitely hoping will be explored. Ward also does a good job in wrapping up the main plot of the novel, giving the book a satisfying ending.

If you have enjoyed previous books in this series then you will probably like reading this book and continuing the Black Dagger Brotherhood stories. Although this book is probably my least favourite book in the series so far, there were still elements of it that really worked for me and on the whole I found it to be an okay read.